A Question For REAL Networking Business People

I'm not telling.

Hi Nick,

Acknowledging their success, being sincere and being humble.

Many successful people are only too glad to give back.

By acknowledging their success, achievements, status, etc.

you make them feel good because everyone likes to be appreciated.

Remember people of all walks love to talk about themselves and there's

a great probability they are willing to talk about the subject of their expertise too.

When you're good at something and enjoy a particular area of mastery,

you could talk for hours if given the opportunity.

Something about acknowledging, appreciating, being sincere and humble makes it easier for people to be sympathetic to your cause as long as it makes sense and is within reason.

For instance, instead of offering them the benefit of increasing their credibility which you already feel they have enough of anyway,

you could put the focus on their existing credibility and explain that you'd like to get their feedback on a project you're working on

because of their credibility so that you get the most reliable information possible.

That's when they feel good about being recognized, appreciated and then almost feel as if it is their duty

to provide reliable information so that you don't get led astray.

It gives them the opportunity to be the shepherd, guardian and protector and gives you exactly what you're looking for...

their valuable insights.

Hope this helps

Nick,

Doug nailed it on the head with his respose. The only way to approach experts is with a healthy dose of humility - and honesty.

If you are able to contact them directly, then I suggest writing a very personal letter to each explaining who you are, what you are working on, and how much you would appreciate their input due to their field of expertise. Simply request a brief moment of their time - at their convenience - in whichever format would be most agreeable to them (i.e. face to face, email, telephone). You may also want to give a brief summation of the questions you would like to ask.

Don't be afraid to stroke a few egos while you're at it, either. A well placed "I have been an admirer of your work for some time, and would feel honoured to learn from your experience in this matter..." is never out of line, and may gain you a much quicker response than some of the responses you were tossing around.

One last thought...

These people are very busy; so don't do a lot of ego stroking. Brevity is the key to this sort of thing; that way they will see you respect not only their expertise, but their time as well. And make sure to leave them plenty of contact options for returning your request.

Anyway, that's all I have for now. Do let us know how it goes, won't you?

Best of luck!